There are several birds on her quilt but this large bird seems to communicate some obvious symbolism. The Union eagle is being beaten by a bird with a long beak, representing the Confederacy as the eagle does the Union.

Confederate uniform button from Louisiana

The pelican has been the symbol of the state of Louisiana from

pre-Civil-War years.

Louisiana flag

Louisiana battle flag with a pelican in the center of the star.

The pelican feeding its young remains on the state flag today.

Why a pelican? Susan Robb Ruple lived in Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas and Texas, but I haven't found any records of her living in Louisiana.

The Louisiana pelican is always seen as nurturing---not the aggressive bird in Susan's quilt.

When Terry Thompson and I were working on

my books Quilts from the Civil War and Civil War Women

Terry used the pelican image to make a Secession Quilt

Secession Quilt top by Terry Clothier Thompson and

Frankie Lister, 1998

Terry's bird has a banner proclaiming "Secession". Frankie appliqued the cut-out chintz flowers and Terry pieced the traditional Seven Sisters blocks to stand for the first seven states of the Confederacy.

It's always easy to make wrong assumptions about symbolism in the past---maybe it's not a pelican at all.

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

"I've attached a picture of my quilt, Sleeping under the Stars. It has 225 4-inch star blocks."

225 is a lot of stars.

I think Judith wins the unannounced contest for over achievement in the star category.I am sending her a package of fat quarters from Alice's Scrapbag.

And Barbara S. gets a runner-up prize for 190.

As does Jill who also made about 190.

In the comments last week she said:

"I loved making these stars. I learned so much and had such a great time looking through my fabric. I decided to make four of each as well....it was a good hand piecing project for the year. I got behind during the summer months but I am almost caught up with only about 10 left to stitch. I haven't counted yet, but I should be at the 190 mark.

Some of the weeks I had so many fabrics to choose from that I think I might have made some extras. I have decided to use them in two quilts...Sister Quilts I am calling them. The layout will be the same with different setting fabric (same print just different colorway). And I think they will be for my two girls.

I can honestly say that if I hadn't decided to hand piece these stars I would have never got them done. It was so easy to sit down in the evening, watch a little TV with the family and make a block or two."

Suzanne Antippas contacted Curator Sandra Staebell, who got right back to her and said they did indeed still have that quilt, the Porter quilt, although it hadn't yet been uploaded to their digital catalog.

"The quilt measures 90.5 x 72 inches and is composed of hexagonal blocks and hexagonal pieces that are arranged to form a six pointed star with a medallion-effect center. Small diamonds frame the points of the star and provide a border or outline effect to the piece. The fabrics consist of silks and velvets and the backing is a black and white checked silk. The quilt is hand quilted in a diamond grid pattern that measures approximately 12-14 stitches per inch. The rest of the top is pieced from panels of varying lengths and widths, and the batting is cotton."

Saturday, December 5, 2015

This small flag quilt looks to be silk from the way it reflects light and the way the red has faded to a peach. The gold figures in the white border look to be eagles.

The center field manages to fit 32 stars into the field.

Actually that's 34.

After Minnesota became the 32nd state in May, 1858, the official U.S. flag included 32 stars for a year until Oregon became a state. 33 stars became the official count on July 4, 1859. States were added so fast in the pre-Civil War years that actual flags with 32 or 33 stars are rare.

A 33 star flag---official between 1859 and 1861

Is the number of stars a clue to date in a quilt?

Occasionally the number of stars is based on all the stars the seamstress can fit rather than an accurate official tally. It may be that the crib quilt is from 1858 or 1859. It might be from the Civil War years when 34 stars celebrated Kansas's statehood from 1861 to 1863. West Virginia was symbolized with 35 stars from July 4, 1863 until after peace in July, 1865.

Or the star arrangement is an attractive pattern that fits the blue field in question.

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Thanks for all the nice comments last week. I enjoyed writing the weekly Time Warp posts, collecting together things I'd written about fabrics years ago and getting some new insights.

Penny's Clouds and Storm Prints

I also enjoyed seeing what you readers found in your stashes. I can see we have been buying the same fabrics for years. Now you know why it looks authentic. It's always better to have a name for a style than just a gut feeling that it looks "right."

Els G - Provincial

It will be exciting to see what kind of sets the star-makers come up with.

Terry had a stick print---or is it cracked ice?

Many thanks to super-model makers Becky and Bettina.

I had intended to make stars too but I'd rather write than sew and and they did sew, so, sew much better a job than I would have.

Below is a free pattern for Becky's set.

She used 113 stars:

- 64 dark framed stars

- 49 light framed stars

As she sewed stars every week she framed each

so that her finished star blocks are now 7-1/2" square.

"Adding frames is a really nice way to show off each little block - also a nice way to adjust for any variance in size of the block."

“Each block was framed with 2 short and 2 long strips. I alternated light and dark frames. When you lay them out in preparation for sewing, alternate the long side of the dark and long side of the light frames to avoid seams butting to seams. When sewing the blocks together, I pressed toward the dark fabric.”

The intersections

Cutting the Block Frames:

Here is Becky's method. She cuts large and trims.

“The finished frame width is 3/4". I cut the strips oversize (1-3/8") and after carefully pressing the seams AWAY from the star block, I trimmed each block to 8". The finished size of each block with frame is 7-1/2 inches“

· Cut 2 strips 1-3/8” x 8-1/2” for the top and bottom.
· And 2 strips 1-3/8” x 6-3/4” for the sides. Trim as you go.

Some technical editors think you should cut exactly. If you'd prefer to cut exact measurements....

· Cut 2 strips 1-1/4” x 8” for the top and bottom.
· And 2 strips 1-1/4” x 6-1/2” for the sides.

Cutting Exactly

Border Edge

“I wanted some kind of border without making the quilt too much bigger. Adding a strip in the outside triangles give it a bit of a zig-zag look without increasing the size of the quilt.